ing in the indescribable splendour of his glory. Yon heavens will open into one mass of light, as brilliant as the sun, to which we cannot now in our earthly state approximate, lest we should be consumed by the power of heat, as the children were kept at a prescribed distance from the presence of God, my love, you will remember, at mount Sinai. Nor can our earthly eye look upon that sun, because of its brightness; but with our renewed and spiritualized bodies we shall not only be enabled to blend with that luminous body, but our eyes will receive a capacity to behold and to enjoy it; for we shall be as that light which lighteth the day, even the express image of God, which is the light of the world. For that sun seeth the world, and the whole world seeth it. If we can contemplate the happiness of such a change, my beloved child, let us figure to ourselves as being secluded in a dark cave for some years, and then being brought out suddenly into some lovely vale, on a sunshiny day. O, would not our feelings exclaim that we were in heaven? Let us conceive the sun eclipsed for many years, and figure to ourselves nothing on earth but war, hatred, malice, and evil: then let us suppose we die, and open our eyes on this brilliant light, where all is peace, music, unity, and concord,-where thousands fly to embrace, love, and caress us. O! this is heaven.

Think, in early youth, we had lost some dear friend, —a parent his darling offspring,—a wife her beloved husband,- -a husband his dearest solace, his comfort, his wife. Let us then feel ourselves on a bed of sickness, writhing in pain, suffering the greatest of sufferings: and then, O let us contemplate the breath of life flying from us, and this life, our souls within this light of glory, and in the arms of one, or of all these friends, who had been hovering over us as the messengers of our peace, and waiting to embrace our glorified spirits, and flying with us on the wings of the wind to the chariots of heaven, to the kingdom of Christ, and presenting us to him, with acclamations of joy and songs of praise! Then shall we see the Lord of hosts on his throne of justice, in vivid and indescribable splendour, propitiousness, kindness, in the midst of his transcendent glory, an extensive circle surrounding him, clothed in white and brilliant raiment of righteousness, upon whose heads are crowns of gold; and in the middle of the space between the throne and the circle about the throne, a sea of crystal, so pellucid, and so beautiful, so uncontaminated, so pure; and we shall see the twenty-four elders, and the blessed angels, whose features will exhibit intelligence, quickness of observance, courage, and vigour, irresistible strength, firmness, patience, perseverance,

quickness of eye and motion, incomparable velo city, imparted to them by wings of pure whiteness, with which these celestial spirits fly from world to world to execute the commands they receive from their beloved Lord. Then shall we find our selves enrobed, and falling down at the throne of our King of righteousness; our voices will join in unison and heavenly cadence with ten thousand voices in the heavenly anthem, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty, who wast, and art, and art to come. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power: for thou hast created all things; and for thy pleasure they are, and were created." Thus, my beloved child, shall we acknowledge our allegiance to the second Adam, our Prince of peace. This is heaven.

There God will wipe away all

tears from our eyes. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. So fare thee well, my child. Should it please God that you and I should separate here, let us cling to this hope, and we shall meet to separate no more; and thou shalt not be like the undutiful child, who by death separates and parts for

ever.

Now let me conclude our conversation by defining to you, my child, the meaning of the name of Chris

tian. You will well acknowledge, my love, what a heavenly doctrine is Christianity, and that the first converts to it were from the poorest and most worthless characters. This is in opposition to all human causes, and all human customs. Had this religion been instituted by man, he would have chosen the wise, the mighty, and those distinguished for specious outward virtues. But this distinction between the ways of God and the ways of man is highly illustrative of that text of Scripture, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Yet, my love, how does this system display the mercy of God! The former characters, who had a sense of their own atrocity and guilt, would eagerly grasp at the hopes which the gospel held out to them; while the latter, puffed up with self-complacency at their own integrity, were perfectly satisfied with their present circumstances and future pros pects, would despise such a doctrine, which admitted the dissolute and profligate on the simple terms of contrition and repentance.

C

The humble-minded, who renounce all virtue within themselves, therefore, embracing the salvation set before them by fighting under the banners of Christ, consider themselves as born again to newness of life. Remorse for their sins gave them broken and contrite spirits, and fearing to lose the

redemption of their souls through the mediation of Christ, they lived in a state of fear, and trembled, lest, by breaking again the commandments of God, they should relapse into sin: which apprehension operated, by the power of the Spirit, (with which God filled the soul,) so powerfully, as to enable them to display to the world that pure righteousness that excited astonishment, especially when their former and their present characters were contrasted; so that they attracted the notice, and moved the admiration, of mankind. By their bright example many were induced to seek the same regeneration, from the same pure and holy source, and which was Christ: whence the name Christian, which was first given in Antioch, in the year 42. The followers of the Lord, therefore, mortified all their evil propensities, and secluded themselves; or rather, the grace of God weaned them from the former irregular habits in which they had indulged, and those vain and empty misnamed pleasures, which those called great, virtuous, wise, and dignified, erroneously sought in midnight revels and guilty dissipation.

The influence of God's Spirit at length operated more powerfully on the soul, and Christians uniting themselves, became a bond of holy love and affection, surpassing even that of mammon: consequently they became brothers and sisters under one Father,